Scientology Probed South Park's Stone, Parker

(Newser) – South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker may gleefully skewer anyone and everyone with scatological abandon, but apparently the Church of Scientology is one target unwilling to take its licks. The church investigated Stone and Parker in retaliation for their 2005 South Park episode "Trapped in the Closet," which ridiculed high-level church beliefs and prominent celebrity believers, such as Tom Cruise and John Travolta, reports the Village Voice.

"You can see that the commanding officer is pissed off, and not enough is getting done," said Marty Rathbun, a former Scientology executive who unearthed the internal document that describes the church's move. In what Scientology analysts call a "classic" investigation, the church reportedly identified Stone's and Parker's friends, performed public records checks, and went through their trash, all in an effort to dig up dirt on the pair. Why their trash? Rathbun explains, "Phone records. Bank records. Personal letters that expose some kind of vulnerability. They'll read stuff into the kind of alcohol you're drinking and how much. Prescriptions. They'll figure out your diet. They can find out a lot about you through your trash." Click to read the entire piece.